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DawgCheck Has No Teeth
At last! Jessica Luton finally touched
on the fallacy behind the University of
Georgia’s DawgCheck self-reporting of
COVID numbers (“COVID Looks Like
It’s About to Surge in Athens,” Nov. 6).
Sixty-four positive reports Oct.19-25 is
meaningless as long as UGA refuses to
publish the percentage of students, faculty
and staff who actually use DawgCheck.
And there’s no way to verify the accuracy
of DawgCheck, either. I suspect the per
centage of faculty, staff and students who
report is very low, judging by the appeals
that bosses are making to remind folks to
report. And I also suspect the accuracy of
the reports is very low, too. I find it difficult
to believe that pampered metro Atlanteens
will bother to take their temperature, log
onto DawgCheck and make their tedious
report with any regularity—to say nothing
of veracity.
Roger Nielsen
Athens
Thanks for sharing the Ron Evans mem
orabilia collection in the Oct. 21 issue of
Flagpole. My jaw dropped when I saw the
Hanna Batrite stamping logo plate. As a
freshman at UGA in the early 1980s, I still
recall the day when the plume of smoke
rose from downtown, and we ran through
campus to see what was burning. Twenty
years later, I finally located a Hanna bat
to call my own. Here’s to hoping that Mr.
Evans’ collection inspires younger genera
tions to acquire a unique bond to Athens.
Rick Stanziale
Athens
Boo to Boo-levard
How is Boulevard the only area where
you’re judging Halloween houses?
I mean, I get it, if grunge was coming
on the scene now, I get it. I met my wife in
the tri-bar area in the early 1990s. Back in
the day, Boulevard was Athens’ Little Five
Points—hip, a little sketchy, filled with
locals and artists who didn’t give a shit, but
now Athens’ Little Five Points is like Little
Five Points. R.E.M. got street cred for living
in Normaltown, but now you’ve got to be in
R.E.M. to afford Normaltown.
We were townies. Met at the Georgia
Bar, hung out at the Roadhouse and the
Engine Room, and then our oldest was born
at Athens Regional, and we had to leave. It’s
taken us 20 years to get back.
But we are back. And one of the things
we did in our 20-year absence is own
Halloween. We throw down the gauntlet.
Boulevard, please. I see that weak-ass shit.
I’m betting we’re not the only ones. Like
the Dead Kennedys said, “Take your fun
seriously.” I don’t care if my family comes, I
ain’t got no presents, I ain’t going to church.
It’s my favorite “H” in the trinity: heavy
metal, horror and Halloween.
See you next year. Bring it.
Wylly Jordan
Athens
Don't Cancel Henry Grady
David Pittman makes a number of valid
points about the legacy of Henry Grady and
the need for more focus on the rich diver
sity of Southern media professionals and
their influence (“Rename the Grady College
for Charlayne Hunter-Gault,” Oct. 14).
But there are ways of balancing the scales
without resorting to more “cancel culture”
broad-stroke reactions. As we are already
seeing, cancel-culture “remedies” tote a lot
of woke baggage, and their unintended con
sequences can make their once-assured jus
tifications less so, while part of the power
of history is to be able to shine a light back
on mistakes and miscarriages of justice, not
to pretend that bad things didn’t happen.
Would it be better if Athens got behind
a brand-new project to build a Charlayne
Hunter-Gault Media Center? In this way,
the past is intact, in all its imperfection, but
the future looks much brighter for the new
understanding we have of it.
B.H. Shaw
Tucker
End Apathy in Athens
I grew up in Athens, where I was fortu
nate enough to go to a diverse elementary
school where every child was taught about
the Civil Rights Movement. I am glad that
I was exposed to a variety of cultures and
beliefs at an early age. As I grew older, I
often found that I was teetering between
two worlds: the values of a long Athenian
lineage of white Protestants and the desire
to know more and explore the rest of the
world. Thanks to UGA, I finally got to study
abroad in 2010. However, I now find in
my 30s that the challenge lies right here at
home.
According to the Athens Clarke-County
Board of Elections, there was only a 67.4%
voter turnout in this election. Many folks
were very excited to vote for president,
but down-ballot candidates suffered as a
result of what I can only imagine is ambiv
alence. I do not claim to have a perfect
voting record; only in recent years have I
begun to educate myself on policy. Yet as
I look around at the world, it worries me
that an entire third of my home county did
not vote, period. Why is a town that is so
invested in wearing just the right combo of
red and black on a Saturday sitting on the
bench?
I understand that some people just
aren’t interested in elections or politicians.
That’s their right and, to be fair, it’s difficult
to get behind most candidates because of
the pervasive shadiness that clouds our
political system. However, I want to know
who these Athenians are so that I can
understand the disconnect. I also want to
continue to develop a better understanding
of why our town seems so progressive and,
at the same time, so antiquated. I suppose
this town is experiencing a bigger version of
what I have always felt: Do we go along with
our legacy and what’s comfortable, or do
we break the cycle by daring to wonder how
someone else feels?
These are complicated issues with no
clear solution. However, there are some
things that we can be doing as a community
to cut down on the ambiguity. Our leaders
should not be afraid to “offend” (I use this
word flippantly) those who think that a
police brutality protest downtown is the
cause of a surge in COVID-19 cases instead
of weekly keg parties where no masks are
worn at all. I live near Milledge Avenue, and
I’ve certainly seen some things that defy
the ideas of social distancing and cleanli
ness (not to mention the litter).
I also implore our leaders to enact policy
that may not be popular with the powerful.
This is a relatively progressive county in
many ways, despite the mysterious third
of the population who did not vote, as well
as the folks who had no idea we even had
two Senate races last month (or that we
have more coming up; please vote). I’m
not asking everyone to think as I do. I am
asking that Athenians think more deeply
about why they think the way that they do.
Is it because of your mom and dad? Is it
because of your friends? It is our civic duty
not only to exercise our rights, but also
to understand the meaning and gravity of
said rights. Athens is a beautiful town with
beautiful people. It’s time for us to get to
know each other a little better.
C. M. Reeves
Athens
College Football Is a Sham
Cy Brown’s article (Sept. 23) “College
Football is a Sham” is right on the money.
We tolerate on the large scale what outrages
us on the small.
Duke Geddis
Athens
Hie People Dave Spoken
In America, we pick our leaders. They
may not know our names, but we certainly
know theirs, and we know what kind of
people they are and what kind of values
they hold. This is the beauty of a democracy.
We decide—not a judge, a state legislature
or even a candidate. We decide because no
matter where we fall on the political spec
trum, we all value democracy, freedom and
fairness.
Throughout our country’s relatively
short but vaunted history, we have known
our current presidents will do their consti
tutional and moral duty with respect to an
organized transfer of power should the will
of the people indicate that they should not
remain in office. It’s just the way things are
done in our beloved republic. In this elec
tion, we witnessed the clear, decisive will
of the people. Every state elections admin
istrator has vouched for the honesty and
integrity of the peoples’ vote in this elec
tion, and so has the Republican-appointed
head of the Department of Homeland
Security. They have all, Republicans and
Democrats alike, carefully counted and
verified each vote, and they have always
adhered to the standards and laws in each
state. It is abundantly clear that the people
have chosen Joe Biden as our next pres
ident. For America to continue to be the
land of the free, only voters decide who
leads us, and we have spoken.
Peggy Perkins
Winder
Republic
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FLAGPOLE.COM | DECEMBER 2, 2020